Cute girl IU goes sporty for Lecoq Sportif!

Singer IU becomes the model of Lecoq Sportif. I like the photos of IU playing with volleyball,she looks energetic in these photos.It seems that she received much love after her popularity skyrocketed,let's hope that she will have enough rest despite busy schedule.

BoA Joins in SME-JYJ Dispute

Artists and workers under SM Entertainment (SME) are getting more and more active in the disputes between SME and JYJ, as an artist and dance instructor under the company recently sent out some controversial messages via the web regarding the conflict.

Gender Inversion in Kpop

I wouldn’t say I’m a fan of Beast, T-ara, or the song “Yayaya” (even though I find it ridiculously addictive), but I found this performance not only so cute that I have probably contracted diabetes,but an interesting look into the possible gender inversions in kpop.

Can an overweight girl group succeed in Korea?

Can a girl group with three voluptuous members find success in perfection-driven Korea?

T.O.P's Interview On Goethe Magazine

'Want to become that kind of person who ‘will devote all of his youth to his work’
This busy and supreme Korean artist has attracted attention from us as an artist now. He might not be so familiar to our readers

Lee Min-ho sent a message to his fans, known as Minoz, via his Official YouTube Channel with his greetings and wishes for everyone during the holidays.

Aww, that was so nice of him to include the English translations for his international fans. The funny thing though, is that every time I hear someone with a Korean accent say “Merry Christmas” I think of Mary Stayed Out All Night… I wonder if they planned it that way, whoa smart marketing staff.

Runaway Plan B is wrapped and off the air, but lead actress Lee Na-young has yet to see a single cent from it, and is taking legal steps to claim her salary.

To that end, she has filed suit against producers with the Seoul Central District Court demanding the unpaid wages, according to her management company Keyeast. This comes after the drama that boasted a 10 billion won budget had trouble securing funding mid-shoot, troubled by ever-dropping ratings. Lee isn’t the only one who hasn’t been paid; other supporting cast members and crew are also waiting. According to management reps, other stars in the main cast like Rain, Daniel Henney, and Yoon Jin-seo have received some pay, though the rest is still outstanding.

A source with the production company promised to negotiate the matter, but it remains to be seen how long that might take if the problem is that there are no funds to be paid.

I hadn’t heard of Runaway running into mid-drama funding issues, although I can see how that happened after its strong start quickly took a dive as the show wasted episodes throwing around its money and glitz before getting down to the actual story. The ratings stabilized at 10% (down from 20%), but it was difficult wooing people back; turns out viewers can’t be bought off with empty style, and they checked out before the show could hook them by turning its attention to real conflict and drama.

It’s too bad, because I found myself enjoying Runaway a lot more once they started to take the story seriously, and it turned out to be much better than I initially thought. But you can’t blame people for moving on without waiting to see when — if — things would get better.

In these stills for MBC’s My Princess, the costuming of series star Kim Tae-hee is really just a sly wink at the audience, because this has nothing to do with her rags-to-riches Cinderella turn after her character, Lee Seol, is discovered to be a real princess.

Instead, the scene depicts Seol in a princess costume as a part-time gig, before she makes the discovery of her true identity as lost royalty. Seol’s a penny-pincher who’ll do just about anything (legal, one assumes) to earn some spare cash, which is how she ends up wearing all this traditional royal finery. It’s here that she happens to meet a Western princess, and they end up taking a photo together.

What I really want to find out, and what remains to be seen, is what kind of setting leads to this whole commoner-to-princess storyline. Will the drama employ a fantasy twist that revives the old monarchy? Will it create an alternate reality where the monarchy never ended, a la Goong? Or will it do something else altogether? I’m itching to know.

Fair warning: there’s a picture spoiler ahead, so don’t click if you don’t want to know what happens in tonight’s episode. MBC’s Queen of Reversals has just been extended… AGAIN. They added two more episodes, taking the total episode count to 32. That leaves six more weeks for the drama to either make Hwang Tae-hee (Kim Nam-joo) fall in love with Gu Yong-shik (Park Shi-hoo), or else go down in flames. I’m thinking they’ll go with the first option if they know what’s good for them.

Okay, fine, that’s probably just my Second Lead Syndrome on overdrive. But really, what else are we gonna do for twelve more episodes if that’s not where this train is headed? I don’t even care if that’s not where you end up, so long as there’s enough romance to tide me over for the detour, if you catch my drift. (I lied. I DO care, but kisses make up for a lot, ‘s all I’m sayin’.)

To help things along in that direction, here’s a preview of what happens in tonight’s Episode 20:

EEEEEEE!

Queen of Reversals has been steadily ticking up in the ratings, and Monday’s Episode 19 hit 15% (AGB Nielson), its highest ratings yet. I have a feeling the kiss will make tonight’s ratings even higher, eh? The extension’s value is twofold for MBC: Queen of Reversals is growing its audience (now that the romance is kicking in, of course) and The Duo gets more time in pre-production, as its successor.

The news of the extension announced that the original extension for ten episodes was announced after the two-episode extension, bringing the total to twelve, not ten. Well whatever. Are there twelve more kisses? ‘Cause then I’ll keep count.

After IU’s immense popularity growth due to her 3 octave vocals, the industry has seemingly started an “octave war”.

A faceless singer, JCera, has recently stepped into the spotlight due to her ability to sing 7 octaves.

Her company, CS Happy Entertainment, who also houses male duo December, stated, “December’s five-octave vocals were possible because of JCera’s seven-octave vocals. When the two were practicing for their digital single, they could not satisfy their harmony, which lead to vocal lessons that enabled December to sing five octaves.”

Actress Choi Jung Won has transformed into a cellist for the upcoming issue of Esquire.
For this photo shoot, Choi Jung Won took on the role of a classic beauty rather than a sexy one, as she posed in a library as a cellist and managed to look absolutely flawless.
Her outfits weren’t revealing, but they still made her look feminine and beautiful.
Her full photo shoot will be out in the upcoming January issue of Esquire.
Source: Star News via Nate, allkpop

Mnet’s Superstar K2 introduced the public to many aspiring artists with much talent. Contestants have been signing contracts one by one, and it seems like we have another that recently signed with a major label.
On December 22nd, Sony Music revealed that Kim Bo Kyung officially signed with their company.
Although she got eliminated, her cover of ‘Because Of You’ by Kelly Clarkson impressed many. It lead to a digital single released by her current company, and eventually brought her to an official contract.
Sony Music stated, “Kim Bo Kyung not only has a great voice, but her guitar and song-producing skills make her a promising singer/songwriter. She will release a mini-album and will start promotions next year. International promotions will also happen with the Sony Music Network.”
Source: Newsen, allkpop

Back in October, former H.O.T. member Jang Woo Hyukshowed off his impressive physique for his Chinese album photo shoot. Recently, the singer showed off his physique once again in the January edition of Dazed & Confused Magazine.
Jang Woo Hyuk is best known for being a member of the legendary Korean idol group H.O.T., after H.O.T. disbanded in 2001 he formed JTL with former H.O.T. members Tony An and Lee Jae Won. In 2006 he started his 2 year mandatory conscription and he finished his mandatory military service on December 18, 2009. Currently, he’s concentrating on the Chinese / Taiwanese markets.
Tip: Kinkishinki
source allkpop

Yoon Seung Ah from the MBC sitcom ‘All My Love‘ has shown a different kind of charisma in her new photoshoot.
The pictorial had a ‘Party Fantasy’ concept, where she had six different hairstyles and makeup looks, exhibiting a 180 degree transformation.
In the photoshoot, Yoon Seung Ah demonstrated the ‘glam punk’ theme with her brown eyeliner and 80s retro look, and she also executed the ’sweet lovely’ goddess pose. On top of that, she showcased her versatility by wearing black eyeliner and sporting an asymmetrical hairstyle for the ‘urban chic’ theme.
The shoot lasted for 12 hours, but Yoon Seung Ah didn’t lose focus and earned a lot of praise from the staff.
The pictorial will be available in the 43rd volume of High Cut, and unpublished materials will be available online.

SS501’s Park Jung Min held a fansigning event to celebrate the release of his Japanese photobook, ‘Present‘.
Jung Min’s management company, CNR Media, expressed, “Park Jung Min held a fan signing event for ‘Present’ on December 21st at 5 PM in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Since 1 PM, 400 fans have gathered to see Park Jung Min, and they had received advanced reservations on the internet. All 15,000 copies of the first edition were all sold out.”
Jung Min was photographed with fellow Japanese celebrities such as Ryoko Hirosue and Aoi Miyazaki. He will also be holding fanmeetings in Osaka and Tokyo on December 22nd and 23rd, respectively.

Netizens have been expressing their envy after the recent surfacing of new pictures of Go Ara’s goddess-like beauty.
On her Twitter, the actress wrote, “The photo spread for Marie Claire has finally been released ^^ So voila! Me when I was at the set.”
In the photo, you can see that her long hair was intensely teased to make it look puffy and voluminous, which was complemented well with her golden, sparkly eye makeup, topped off by her innocent smile and V-sign pose.
The hair looks downright frightening, but her striking face seems to draw all the attention regardless.

Super Junior’s Donghae recently left a message to his fans and viewers on the official site of his drama, ‘It’s Okay, Daddy’s Daughter’.
On December 22nd, Donghae wrote on the drama’s official online notice board,

“Through the drama, I have been able to feel the importance of my family again, and I wish I could express my love for my parents more. I have been thinking more about my father in heaven while I’ve been acting. I will work hard to become a son they can be proud of.”

The members of “Invincible Youth” showed their heartwarming characters by giving donations to the chief of Yuchiri, the village location of ‘Invincible Youth’, due to his house being burnt down.“The members of ‘Invincible Youth’ went to help the former chief, Lee Kwang Goo. The chief is currently lodging in the town hall due to his house being burnt down, and the members collected their donations and the producers sent it over this afternoon,”Kim Ho Sang PD on December 22nd.
Not knowing the original cause of the fire, Lee Kwang Goo’s house was completely destroyed, which saddened both the members and producers of the show. The members’ adjustments to rural life and farming through “Invincible Youth” helped improve the Yuchiri village tremendously.KARA’s Goo Hara, f(x)’s Victoria, Brown Eyed Girls’ Narsha, T-ara’s Hyomin, SECRET’s Sunhwa, Kim Sori, After School’s Jooyeon, and past cast members Yuri and Sunny of SNSD and 4minute’s HyunA all contributed to the donation.
Kim Ho Sang PD added, “Not only did the members contribute, but also the producers as well. They are currently removing the residue of the fire and are choosing a site to build the new house. He will need to stay at the town hall for around two months.”
Source: Star News via Nate, allkpop

Actor, singer, and MC Lee Seung Gi attended a fansigning event for his endorsement of The Saem.
This makeup brand’s store in Myungdong held the event on December 22nd and many fangirls came out to get an autograph from Lee Seung Gi in person.
This event was held so that the brand could give a little treat for the customers that had brought their products this year, and as a nice little pre-Christmas treat.
Meeting Lee Seung Gi is surely a good way to start the holidays!